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I recently saw Francobollo at The Cookie, they were jaw-droppingly perfect live. The cuts from their album 'Long Live Life' sounded all the better live and some of the guitar playing on show was absolutely majestic. What the band have managed to encapsulate is a unique sound, pulling from many different genres and accumulating in one of my albums of the year. I got the chance to chat with them recently, and it sounds as if their band dynamic really gets their creative juices flowing and culminates in the great music they produce. We further chatted about their album art, their UK tour and... Italian postage stamps...Question: What does Francobollo mean and where does it come from?Francobollo. The name Francobollo is Italian and means postage stamp. it was our first bassist Frans that came up with the name. He plays in a great band in sweden called "Sista Bossen" Check them out! Mad pop punk sung in swedish. really good!

Bloody Knees are a rock band, with influences from other sub-genres like grunge and metal. Their music has shown a clear progression from their 2014 EP 'Stitches' which was alright, it didn't cut them a clear path though and it was clear they hadn't quite found their sound. On 'Maybe It's Easy' which was released a few weeks ago they really captured their sound, with much better songwriting, lyricism and some beautiful guitar playing throughout. It seems that they all harnessed their talents and left us with a great EP, them 3 years off obviously did them the world of good.

I was understandably very excited to go and see them at The Cookie in Leicester when I had the chance then. To make it even more desirable it was a free gig, something I'm never going to turn down the chance to go to. It was quite busy when we got there, which just shows how quickly Bloody Knees are accumulating a fan base, made even more spectacular by their hiatus. At the start of…

Caswell is a singer-songwriter hailing from Suffolk in the UK. She's on the come up at the moment, grinding out the small shows as you would expect. However, what you wouldn't expect from such a project is such a wholesome, warm and enticing sound. The Shadow Aspect encapsulates everything I look to hear from a singer, but most importantly it has that personality stamp that goes amiss with so many artists.

What I mean by this is the genuine emotion on tracks such as 'Not So Simple' which is one of my favourites on the EP. It's far too melodic and catchy for an artist that is relatively new to the music scene, with such brilliant production carrying the song through as well. Which is something that lays across this whole EP like a warm blanket, such eloquent and perfect production is essential to an artist that has such a uniquely traversing voice. The track 'Run Me A Cold Bath' harnesses a soft bass and entices in a piano in the breaks of the song, and it …

What I've compiled here is a list of artists whom aren't necessarily 'unknown' but are criminally underrated as well. Whilst there are some unsigned bands here, there's a bit of a mixture between those who are on the rise and those who are reaching decent levels of fame. Which has created a list of bands/artists whom I'm basically telling you to keep an eye on, because they could blow into the mainstream at any minute.

Adwaith
Adwaith are such a unique band, they're so witty and outgoing with their music turning incredibly serious social injustices into a mockery as they belittle sexism and empower feminism. Their song 'Femme' is truly special power pop and I'd recommend giving these a listen. Also, keep an eye out in the coming months for their debut album, it's tipped to be really special. Boy Azooga
I first saw these guys when they opened for Estrons when I saw them live a while ago. I was hooked from then, their tracks 'Face Behind He…

Francobollo are a progressive grunge band from Sweden, a
country that has produced some phenomenal talent over the years, but next in
line for the spotlight is none other than these lads. They recently released
their debut album, Long Live Life, an album that I’ve grown to love since its
release with some phenomenal guitar work on the album and some very clever use
of samplers to go with it. I can’t wait to see these guys gain all the fame
deserve over the next few years.

The Cookie is my go to venue at the moment, purely because
it just has the sound systems set up perfectly and the acoustics of the room
are nigh on perfect. Not to mention I love the informality of it, being able to
meet the artist after they perform most of the time is always a huge plus and,
for the most part, they locally source the support acts as well. But I digress.
Francobollo kicked off their show with the fantastic tune ‘Worried Times’ which
got certain members of the audience bopping along, and what impre…

Declan McKenna's 'What Do You Think About The Car?' is my strongest contender for album of the year at the moment. It encapsulates so much I love about music, it's catchy, witty and serious all at the same times. The inspiring anthem 'Paracetomol' is one of my personal favourites from the Glastonbury Rising Artist award winner. But it's tracks like 'The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home' and 'Brazil' that really set him apart from the competition. They're the type of songs where you hear them first and think "Wow, they're catchy" and after more listens the lyrics start to set in and it changes the whole aspect of the song. For example, 'Brazil' is a really upbeat song but it's actually about the damning effects of the 2014 World Cup on the poorer populace of the country. So understandably I was overly excitable at the chance to see him live. (My girlfriend had to talk me out of going to the Birmingham gig as well.…

Britpop and Oasis legend, Liam Gallagher, previously tweeted that he'll "Never do a solo album" because that's what "C*nts" do. Fast forward to 2017 and yet here we are with LG's first solo album. The questions is, has he redeemed himself after those words or has he been left with egg on his face. The short answer is he's redeemed himself, however it's not quite that simple.

As You Were is an incredibly comfortable album, which in a way is by no means bad thing because this is exactly the album that I wanted from the king of Twitter himself, but I would have liked a few curveballs in there, something a little bit more risque. On the other hand, you could say that the tempo of the album is a little risky, it's slower than I thought with the downer songs being less than sporadic.

What Liam has really encapsulated though is his famously unique, hoarse yet harmonious vocals. And that's something I'm glad to say because the singing on B…

Yuk Foo actually made me a Wolf Alice fan. How crazy is that? I was never keen on them before, I saw their first album get Mercury Prize nominations and win album of the year awards and I didn't understand the hype. But then I heard Yuk Foo on the radio after it's release and I had it stuck in my heard for ages, as it is as I write this review. But it's Don't Delete The Kisses that made me go back and listen to their first album again. What a song that truly is. It's such a twisted, yet beautiful, modern love story with it's pondering of putting kisses at the end of a message. But it's lead singers, Ellie Rowsell's, low-key almost whispering lyrics that make it all that more powerful almost as if we are listening to her inside thoughts as she ponders whether this relationship is what she wants but then she realises that the unnamed love interest is all she wants to talk about and she keeps recycling his jokes so it must be love. A really well written p…

What I've compiled here is a list of artists whom aren't necessarily 'unknown' but are criminally underrated as well. Whilst there are some unsigned bands here, there's a bit of a mixture between those who are on the rise and those who are reaching decent levels of fame. Which has created a list of bands/artists whom I'm basically telling you to keep an eye on, because they could blow into the mainstream at any minute.

Types
First up, one of my favourite bands out at the moment. Types have nailed down a niche market in Indie music that I didn't even know I was looking for. However, their debut EP was absolutely phenomenal and even featured in my top 10 albums of the mid-year list. Their new single I Can Taste Blood is very much different yet still prominently their sound. That explicit showing of versatility ensures that they're going to stick around. Estrons
I saw Estrons live when they supported Slaves on their 'Back In The Van' tour at The Coo…

I first discovered Estrons when they supported Slaves on their "Back In The Van" tour last year, and I distinctly remember them performing 'I'm Not Your Girl' and it just stayed stuck in my head for weeks. After that though it took me a while to go and check out their other music but after I had I was hooked and now I'm waiting on every single release of theirs, Glasgow Kisses and Cold Wash most recently whetted my appetite but I'm terribly excited to hear whatever project they're working towards.
The first support act were Boarder, a female fronted trio with two guitarists and the leader singer playing the drums. Very Slaves-like in the pace of their tracks and particularly enjoyed their instrumental that they played within their set, I would love to hear the finished version of that after lyrics have been added. What's so exciting about hearing these small bands at small venues is the playing of what are essentially demos but they are more ful…

Lorde is an artist that has always intrigued me. She's so far out there in the mainstream, yet embraced by critics and the public alike which is two things that you usually won't find together. If you look at artists like Halsey or Katy Perry, they hold one of those things but not the other and I think it's something a pop artist probably strives for because at the end of the day, you can make all the money in the world but if no ones listening to your music in 20 years time then what really was the point?

Lorde's Melodrama is definitely one of my contenders for album of the year, probably contains some of the greatest pop songs of all time. I know that's a bold statement but I feel that strongly about how pure and powerful Lorde's music truly is. So naturally when the opportunity arose I wanted to catch Lorde on her tour, because I feel that she's one of those people who could walk away from music tomorrow and fade into obscurity. Admittedly £35 a ticket f…